Diffuse intravascular coagulation
- Article
- 2021-02-01
Also known as consumption coagulopathy
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a rare but serious condition that causes abnormal clotting by the body's blood vessels. It is caused by another disease or condition, such as an infection or injury, that makes the body's normal blood clotting process overactive.
DIC can develop quickly over hours or days, or more slowly. Signs and symptoms may include bleeding, bruising, low blood pressure, shortness of breath, or confusion. Complications can be life-threatening and include bleeding or multiple organ failure.
DIC that develops quickly usually requires emergency hospital treatment. When treating DIC, your doctor will treat the disease that causes DIC. Your doctor may also give you medicines to prevent blood clots or blood products such as platelets or clotting factors to stop bleeding.
DIC can develop quickly over hours or days, or more slowly. Signs and symptoms may include bleeding, bruising, low blood pressure, shortness of breath, or confusion. Complications can be life-threatening and include bleeding or multiple organ failure.
DIC that develops quickly usually requires emergency hospital treatment. When treating DIC, your doctor will treat the disease that causes DIC. Your doctor may also give you medicines to prevent blood clots or blood products such as platelets or clotting factors to stop bleeding.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of DIC can include:
- Bruising, which can appear easily, and often in different places as small dots or larger spots
- Bleeding at the site of wounds from surgical cuts or needle placement
- Bleeding from the nose, gums, or mouth, even when brushing your teeth
- Blood in the stool from bleeding from the intestines or stomach. Feces may appear dark red or resemble tar.
- Blood in the urine
- Chest pain, trouble breathing, and shortness of breath
- Confusion, speech changes or problems, dizziness or seizures
- Headache
- Low bloodpressure
- Pain, redness, warmth, and swelling in the lower leg
- Unusually heavy periods
Treatments
Treatment for DIC depends on its severity and symptoms. The main goals of treating DIC are to control clotting and bleeding and to treat the underlying cause. DIC can go away once the underlying cause is treated.
Medicines
Your doctor may use anticoagulants, also called blood thinners, to reduce blood clotting. You can get them as a pill, as an injection or through an IV. Possible side effects include bleeding, especially if you are taking other medicines that thin your blood, such as aspirin.
Procedures and Therapies
Your doctor may recommend the following treatments.
- Replacement of coagulation factors such as fibrinogen. This is used to stop bleeding.
- Oxygen therapy to allow more oxygen to reach the lungs, heart and the rest of the body when blood clots are preventing oxygen from reaching your organs.
- Plasma transfusion, which provides clotting factors, to stop or prevent bleeding.
- Platelet transfusion to rapidly increase the number of platelets to stop or prevent bleeding.
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